Teak (Tectona grandis L.) belongs to most precious and desired wood species. Because of reduced supply of teak wood from natural forests in Southeast Asia,mainly the plantation wood from different tropical regions is available on the market. We present the properties of nature grown teak wood compared tothose of wood from the plantations. Teak wood from natural forests generallycontains a greater portion of coloured heartwood containing hydrophobic caoutchouc and high content of biologically active extractives like lapachol, deoxylapachol, 2 methylanthraquinone (tectoquinone) and 2-hydroxymethylanthraquinone. The heartwood of teak is distinguished by its decorative appearance, high natural durability and dimensional stability. Trees from plantations are usually fast grown, have smaller stems and high proportion of sapwood and juvenile wood. Heartwood-formation can be less intensive which leads to reduced natural durability. The wood from plantations is not necessarily of lower quality, but it is likely more variable than the wood form natural sites.
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